Roland JX-8P Ableton Live Pack

Roland JX-8P, a Classic Analog Synthesizer from 1984

The Roland JX-8P was released in 1984, and is a purely analog polyphonic synthesizer. It has some programming tricks that allows it to achieve sounds normally associated with FM synthesis, which was very popular at the time. You can hear it on records by The Cure, Elton John, Madonna, and Gary Numan. It is also responsible for the iconic opening in Europe's "The Final Countdown." If there's one thing you can count on the JX-8P for, it is warm and full analog sounds of the 80s.

Unfortunately, the JX-8P was rather difficult to program thanks to its lack or traditional synth controls and its abundance of membrane buttons popularized by the Yamaha DX-7. Memory storage is a pain by today's standards, as it only has 32 on-board presets, and another 32 with a cumbersome cartridge system.

Roland JX-8P Live Pack

32 Ableton Live Instrument Rack presets, built from multi-samples of the Roland JX-8P built-in presets. Complete with Macro Controls for effects and filtering. Designed for expressive playability with your MIDI controller.

Classic Warm 80s Analog Sounds for Ableton Live

Fortunately, you won't need to hunt one of these synths down on eBay and deal with the limitations it has. My good friend Mike Longo recently picked one up and recorded multiple samples of all 32 built-in presets. We then put those sounds into Ableton Live and built 32 Instrument Racks that capture the classic analog sounds of the JX-8P.

Beautiful Sound of the Old Meets the Power of Ableton Live

The instruments we put together sound great. We were able to capture the warmth and character that the JX-8P offers. Things really got interesting as we started making use of Live's effects. First, the new analog-modeled filters in Simpler and Sampler sound great on these samples. We've included Macro Controls for manipulating the filter, and I've got to say, the filter drive sounds really nice here! We've also given some controls to add chorus, delay, and some pitch drift that is all too common on old synthesizers.

One of the 32 Instrument Racks in the Roland JX-8P Ableton Live Pack

We also spent a lot of time making these instruments expressive and playable. I'm so happy with Push 2's sensitivity, so it was important we made use of Velocity and Aftertouch. Each instrument responds well to both. You get changes in dynamics based on your velocity, as well as different filter settings and release times. I think you'll really notice this on the more percussive sounds in the Pack. Aftertouch can be used to modulate the pitch. Very fast changes in pressure will create a vibrato effect, while slower changes will sound more like pitch drift.

Get the Roland JX-8P Ableton Live Pack Now and Make Some Music!

We spent a lot of time making this collection the best it can be. Over the last few weeks, I couldn't resist dropping its presets on everything I've worked on. I'm confident you will enjoy it as much as we do. We all work hard for our money, so as always, if you are ever unsatisfied, let me know and I will refund your money. Enjoy the Roland JX-8P Ableton Live Pack and send along any music you make, I'd love to hear it!

Roland JX-8P Pack Produced with Mike Longo

As I mentioned before, the Roland JX-8P Ableton Live Pack is a collaboration between me and good friend, Mike Longo. I've collaborated with Mike in the past on the Alpha Juno 2 and Korg Poly 800 Armageddon Ableton Live Packs. The JX-8P in this Pack is Mike's, and he spent many hours sampling and editing samples to bring this creation to life. Our musical histories began together. When we turned 14, Mike taught me my first song on guitar, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. To this day, he remains one of my favorite musicians and biggest influences. Check out the track above, and head over to his Bandcamp page for lots of great music.

AfroDJMac is the work of Brian Funk, a New York-based musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer. He's a writer, podcaster, and curious sound designer who loves to share his knowledge about music production and the creative process.